. >> miss merkel conducts foreign policy holding a weapon in her hands. >> the government takes a different view. the defense minister argued that exports to saudi arabia could help stabilize the situation in the middle east. we spoke to a defense analyst. i asked him how likely it is that saudi arabia could use these german tanks to put down uprisings and crush dissent. >> the boxer tanks which are discussed today are an armored vehicle used for transport purposes, not so much for riot control. it is a german-dutch corp. project. it is used mainly for the transportation to protect against insurgents in afghanistan. it is not designed so much for riot control or to control insurgencies, but more to protect the forces of germany and other countries in the field. >> the opposition is accusing the government of flouting court -- german guidelines. is that fair to say? >> the current policy guidelines for arms export in germany go back to the red green government a couple years ago. the current government is more or less responsible for the current guidelines. there is room for improvement. one